Redemption story: ITT OP tries to rebuild a BR AKA How I became a pro from a busto degen
03-28-2016
, 07:52 AM
Backstory:
So where do I begin. I busted my poker roll and life roll in January of last year (Jan, 2015). But, the story starts way before then. I was a wannabe professional poker player, living in the Philippines, leading up to that. I moved to the Phils. in 2013 to live and grind Stars. Even though I had never really played online much prior to this (I got into poker right around BF). I was having a lot of success at 2/5 live but it turned out I had greatly overestimated my abilities. Predictably, I was a losing player on stars, having jumped straight into the reg infested 6max battlegrounds not even knowing how to use a HUD. But, even worse than this, I was a degen gambling addict with no self control or discipline, had severe tilt issues, was lazy and unmotivated, and was living an unhealthy life style both mentally and physically.
I think I could beat Stars now but back then I had no chance with my lack of work ethic, tilt issues, and gambling addiction. I had no control over myself. I would begin to build a roll but if I had a bad night or took a bad beat or whatever I would bust all the money I had on the site chasing losses. If I lost 10 buy-ins at .50/1, for example, I would move to 5/10 because I had to get even before I went to bed for some reason. And I would either get back to even or bust my roll. But, I would always bust my roll eventually. Even worse than this, I was addicted to blackjack live. With live poker, my pattern was; instead of going on tilt and busting a roll when I took a bad beat, I would cash out from the poker table and punt off money at BJ. I have so many crazy stories from this time. From winning 20K in a month at 2/5 a few times, to losing 23ishK in one night at BJ at a WSOPC event stop in Lake Tahoe, CA. To being down 13K one summer in Vegas at the WSOP, being so tilted by this, and deciding I was going to get back to even at BJ that night or bust my whole roll and ending up winning like 17K that night.
So obviously I was a total degen. I was actually one of the biggest winners at the games I was playing though (playing live poker in the US i mean). And also was making money sending weed to the East coast on the side (foreshadowing) to feed my gambling addictions. Anyways, I decided I wanted to move to the Philippines because I had a lot of money saved up at this point despite all of the leaks. I found out they had casinos there and would degen it up + was losing on Stars. Was on my path to being busto but ending up shipping an Asian Poker Tour event for about $40K USD. So that kept me going for a lot longer, obviously, but it was inevitable. I ended up living there for about a year and then came back to the safe waters of live poker in the US. But, my bankroll was so depleted at this time and was so worried about going broke that I decided to go all in at the weed game.
I started taking amtrak trips with suitcases full of weed. I have a lot of crazy stories from this time too. Anyways, long story short, I was finally satisfied with my money situation. I would have a little over $100K after my last trip. So I booked my amtrak ticket for my last amtrak trip and then a plane ticket for a week later to move back to the Philippines and live happily ever after with my sick bankroll. I ended up getting arrested at 4am in a midwest state. I would not be getting on the plane to the Philippines. It was a completely surreal experience. Luckily though, I had money, and the criminal justice system here is not too punitive when you have money. I got out on bail for $10K and was out on bail until October. In the end, I had to agree to a plea deal. In exchange for pleading guilty, I would only get one month in jail + a $10K fine. Also had to pay the lawyer almost $10K. So this event completely busted me. Completely busto. But, it turned out, this event was the best thing to ever happen to me.
I went into a deep and dark depression. I had to move back in with my mom even though I'm in my 20s (still here actually, this is quite embarrassing to admit, but we are still in the begging stages of the redemption story), didn't talk to anybody in the outside world for months and months (Still need to reach out to a lot of people actually), etc. But, the struggle really caused me to examine myself and learn what changes needed to be made. I quit poker and BJ and gambling in general, at this time. I joined a gym for the first time in my life ( I lost 20lbs and went from skinny-fat to normal skinny with a bit of muscle) and worked out 5 days a week every week. I started meditating daily and studying computer programming online. With each new good habit I would slowly incorporate another one. I was slowly learning self-discipline and how not to be lazy AF. (This all started in like February while out on bail not after getting released from jail)
This post is getting long, I just realized, So Im going to wrap this up. Long story short, I missed poker, and decided I had finally conquered my demons, so I would allow myself to play poker again. But, I was broke and only had $100 to spare. I decided to try out Bovada. I was shocked with how soft the games were. This was in December when I started playing again. I put a lot of time into studying since I had played last. I grinded the micros and quickly and easily grinded it up to over $2K by January. I had to cash out half and give it to my mom for bills. Grinded it back up but didn't have as much success in January as December. Only got it back up to like $1800 I think before having to cash out $1K. I decided at this time, that the games were so soft and I'm still young, So I'm gonna focus on poker 100% and try to make as much as many possible just playing poker and I can study computer programming and get a job later in life if I need to.
And have been building my BR nicely since then. I was up to $4500 on Bovada today but got a bit nervous having that much on there since that is 90% of my net worth right now. Plus I want to start taking shots at live poker again. So I cashed out $3K for a live roll. Already have bills paid for this month so that will all go to live roll. Which will bring it up to $3500. Which is a lil over 10 buy ins at 1/3. 10 buy ins sounds small but if I play tight and solid I should never go broke live. And then online I have a lil over $1500 on Bovada. I play mostly 6max PLO on there and will start at .50 and work my way up. 30 buy ins isn't a lot for PLO either but I am employing strict BRM and will move down if I need to. With the ability to move down or up based on the BR I should never go broke with this roll either. (As long as I keep my tilt and gambling degen issues in check
So that's where I'm at currently. I turned a $100 roll into a $5K roll in a few months. And I finally feel secure now. Like I have a real roll now. Anything under $5K isn't a real roll. You're just taking a shot. But, with proper BRM I should never go broke with $5K. So we will see where this goes.. I'll use this blog to track my journey growing it to as high as I can. I have a few different plans. I need to make a bit more money first because I want to be able to put this away and not have to dip into this money. But... I want to move out of my mom's house asap. I am thinking maybe Vegas for the summer or FL. Maybe the Phils. Tickets are only $500 round trip right now and I could live there very cheaply. I'm thinking maybe wait until I make $1k more and then buy a ticket to the Phils. and live there the next month or two and grind Bovada while living cheaply until the WSOP in Vegas. Then move to Vegas and grind cash for the summer. The PLO games are especially soft during the series. I hope to get my BR high enough by then to play PLO cash the whole summer. If I can this will be a great opportunity to build a bankroll and fast. So we'll see what happens. I'm going to bed now. Will post more in the future
Oh yeah also I want to use the blog to track my results and post my goals also so I'll start with a + or - money won after each day.
Current roll:
Live: $3500 + $0
Online: $1500 +$0
So where do I begin. I busted my poker roll and life roll in January of last year (Jan, 2015). But, the story starts way before then. I was a wannabe professional poker player, living in the Philippines, leading up to that. I moved to the Phils. in 2013 to live and grind Stars. Even though I had never really played online much prior to this (I got into poker right around BF). I was having a lot of success at 2/5 live but it turned out I had greatly overestimated my abilities. Predictably, I was a losing player on stars, having jumped straight into the reg infested 6max battlegrounds not even knowing how to use a HUD. But, even worse than this, I was a degen gambling addict with no self control or discipline, had severe tilt issues, was lazy and unmotivated, and was living an unhealthy life style both mentally and physically.
I think I could beat Stars now but back then I had no chance with my lack of work ethic, tilt issues, and gambling addiction. I had no control over myself. I would begin to build a roll but if I had a bad night or took a bad beat or whatever I would bust all the money I had on the site chasing losses. If I lost 10 buy-ins at .50/1, for example, I would move to 5/10 because I had to get even before I went to bed for some reason. And I would either get back to even or bust my roll. But, I would always bust my roll eventually. Even worse than this, I was addicted to blackjack live. With live poker, my pattern was; instead of going on tilt and busting a roll when I took a bad beat, I would cash out from the poker table and punt off money at BJ. I have so many crazy stories from this time. From winning 20K in a month at 2/5 a few times, to losing 23ishK in one night at BJ at a WSOPC event stop in Lake Tahoe, CA. To being down 13K one summer in Vegas at the WSOP, being so tilted by this, and deciding I was going to get back to even at BJ that night or bust my whole roll and ending up winning like 17K that night.
So obviously I was a total degen. I was actually one of the biggest winners at the games I was playing though (playing live poker in the US i mean). And also was making money sending weed to the East coast on the side (foreshadowing) to feed my gambling addictions. Anyways, I decided I wanted to move to the Philippines because I had a lot of money saved up at this point despite all of the leaks. I found out they had casinos there and would degen it up + was losing on Stars. Was on my path to being busto but ending up shipping an Asian Poker Tour event for about $40K USD. So that kept me going for a lot longer, obviously, but it was inevitable. I ended up living there for about a year and then came back to the safe waters of live poker in the US. But, my bankroll was so depleted at this time and was so worried about going broke that I decided to go all in at the weed game.
I started taking amtrak trips with suitcases full of weed. I have a lot of crazy stories from this time too. Anyways, long story short, I was finally satisfied with my money situation. I would have a little over $100K after my last trip. So I booked my amtrak ticket for my last amtrak trip and then a plane ticket for a week later to move back to the Philippines and live happily ever after with my sick bankroll. I ended up getting arrested at 4am in a midwest state. I would not be getting on the plane to the Philippines. It was a completely surreal experience. Luckily though, I had money, and the criminal justice system here is not too punitive when you have money. I got out on bail for $10K and was out on bail until October. In the end, I had to agree to a plea deal. In exchange for pleading guilty, I would only get one month in jail + a $10K fine. Also had to pay the lawyer almost $10K. So this event completely busted me. Completely busto. But, it turned out, this event was the best thing to ever happen to me.
I went into a deep and dark depression. I had to move back in with my mom even though I'm in my 20s (still here actually, this is quite embarrassing to admit, but we are still in the begging stages of the redemption story), didn't talk to anybody in the outside world for months and months (Still need to reach out to a lot of people actually), etc. But, the struggle really caused me to examine myself and learn what changes needed to be made. I quit poker and BJ and gambling in general, at this time. I joined a gym for the first time in my life ( I lost 20lbs and went from skinny-fat to normal skinny with a bit of muscle) and worked out 5 days a week every week. I started meditating daily and studying computer programming online. With each new good habit I would slowly incorporate another one. I was slowly learning self-discipline and how not to be lazy AF. (This all started in like February while out on bail not after getting released from jail)
This post is getting long, I just realized, So Im going to wrap this up. Long story short, I missed poker, and decided I had finally conquered my demons, so I would allow myself to play poker again. But, I was broke and only had $100 to spare. I decided to try out Bovada. I was shocked with how soft the games were. This was in December when I started playing again. I put a lot of time into studying since I had played last. I grinded the micros and quickly and easily grinded it up to over $2K by January. I had to cash out half and give it to my mom for bills. Grinded it back up but didn't have as much success in January as December. Only got it back up to like $1800 I think before having to cash out $1K. I decided at this time, that the games were so soft and I'm still young, So I'm gonna focus on poker 100% and try to make as much as many possible just playing poker and I can study computer programming and get a job later in life if I need to.
And have been building my BR nicely since then. I was up to $4500 on Bovada today but got a bit nervous having that much on there since that is 90% of my net worth right now. Plus I want to start taking shots at live poker again. So I cashed out $3K for a live roll. Already have bills paid for this month so that will all go to live roll. Which will bring it up to $3500. Which is a lil over 10 buy ins at 1/3. 10 buy ins sounds small but if I play tight and solid I should never go broke live. And then online I have a lil over $1500 on Bovada. I play mostly 6max PLO on there and will start at .50 and work my way up. 30 buy ins isn't a lot for PLO either but I am employing strict BRM and will move down if I need to. With the ability to move down or up based on the BR I should never go broke with this roll either. (As long as I keep my tilt and gambling degen issues in check
So that's where I'm at currently. I turned a $100 roll into a $5K roll in a few months. And I finally feel secure now. Like I have a real roll now. Anything under $5K isn't a real roll. You're just taking a shot. But, with proper BRM I should never go broke with $5K. So we will see where this goes.. I'll use this blog to track my journey growing it to as high as I can. I have a few different plans. I need to make a bit more money first because I want to be able to put this away and not have to dip into this money. But... I want to move out of my mom's house asap. I am thinking maybe Vegas for the summer or FL. Maybe the Phils. Tickets are only $500 round trip right now and I could live there very cheaply. I'm thinking maybe wait until I make $1k more and then buy a ticket to the Phils. and live there the next month or two and grind Bovada while living cheaply until the WSOP in Vegas. Then move to Vegas and grind cash for the summer. The PLO games are especially soft during the series. I hope to get my BR high enough by then to play PLO cash the whole summer. If I can this will be a great opportunity to build a bankroll and fast. So we'll see what happens. I'm going to bed now. Will post more in the future
Oh yeah also I want to use the blog to track my results and post my goals also so I'll start with a + or - money won after each day.
Current roll:
Live: $3500 + $0
Online: $1500 +$0
Last edited by Quaddeuce; 03-28-2016 at 08:02 AM.
03-29-2016
, 08:52 AM
04-22-2016
, 02:20 PM
Have continued to crush/run good. Had free room offers in Reno and Lake Tahoe due to my past degenarcy. So decided to take advantage. Got into Reno Tuesday night and played at Peppermill.
Results:
Peppermill - 11:20-12:50 300-592; +292.
1h30m
Only played an hour and a half because my table broke and I would have had to go on the list. Game looked very good though but I was tired anyways.
Wednesday night at Peppermill results:
4/20
Pepper- 3pm- 10pm 400-801; +401 ; 7h
Game was super soft full of loose passives and I just kind of ran over the table. Got into one weird spot where Im not sure if I made the correct call but it worked out. Would like some thoughts on. UTG+1 and +2 limp. I wake up with AA and make it 15. Call and call. 48 in pot. Flop 10 4 5hh. UTG+1 checks and +2 ships it all in for 143. He's been super passive up to this point but was also visibly frustrated after seeing his 600$ stack whittle down to less than 200$. I picked up a tell that +1 was going to muck so that made the decision a little easier. I decided +2 was probably never playing a set or two pair like this so I call. +1 folds. And board runs out 3, 6 no hearts. Not the greatest run out but not the worst. Villain flips over J10off and I scoop.
Then Thursday morning I made the drive to Lake Tahoe. I got a free room and $240 in free play chips and $160 in comps. So got a facial/massage and made $170 in BJ with the free play. Then made my way to the poker room. Game was surprisingly tough. Like I felt like I was the best player and +EV at the table but it wasn't as soft as I expect 1/2 to be. I got coolered pretty badly early on also. I would like some thoughts on my play in this hand also. Young kid sits down and it's his 3rd hand. So no reads but he buys in full and is shuffling his chips so he is probably competent. He's UTG+3. Limp and limp and he makes it 18. Folds to me on B and I have 99. I decide to flat since raising and folding both seemed like bad options, raising especially. I think a blind might have called and both limpers did call. Flop was 678. Villain cbets when checked to. I decide I can rep a big hand on this flop as it hits my range way harder than villains. So I decide to raise and then ship turn if called. I feel over pairs make up a big part of his range. And even if I can't get him to fold an over pair I have about 40% equity. Plus I might be good here anyways. AK and AQ type hands also make up a large part of his range. So I raise and it folds to him and he ships. Well that didn't go according to plan. Oh well, have to call now. GII and turn is gin! 5! River blank! Villain turns over 910 for the nuts
lol. How TF does he have 910 in his range raising to 18 UTG+3. I gave him too much credit I guess. Oh well. I keep grinding and despite being card dead find two really good steal spots in big pots which propel me to a whopping +28 victory lol.
Results:
Harveys SLT- 8pm-1:45am 640-668; +28; 5h45m
Well that's it for now. Still in Lake Tahoe right now but will be driving to Vegas shortly. I have a room rented off of airbnb for 1 month. Planning on staying the whole summer minimum but I like booking only one month to keep my options open. Wish me luck!
Results:
Peppermill - 11:20-12:50 300-592; +292.
1h30m
Only played an hour and a half because my table broke and I would have had to go on the list. Game looked very good though but I was tired anyways.
Wednesday night at Peppermill results:
4/20
Pepper- 3pm- 10pm 400-801; +401 ; 7h
Game was super soft full of loose passives and I just kind of ran over the table. Got into one weird spot where Im not sure if I made the correct call but it worked out. Would like some thoughts on. UTG+1 and +2 limp. I wake up with AA and make it 15. Call and call. 48 in pot. Flop 10 4 5hh. UTG+1 checks and +2 ships it all in for 143. He's been super passive up to this point but was also visibly frustrated after seeing his 600$ stack whittle down to less than 200$. I picked up a tell that +1 was going to muck so that made the decision a little easier. I decided +2 was probably never playing a set or two pair like this so I call. +1 folds. And board runs out 3, 6 no hearts. Not the greatest run out but not the worst. Villain flips over J10off and I scoop.
Then Thursday morning I made the drive to Lake Tahoe. I got a free room and $240 in free play chips and $160 in comps. So got a facial/massage and made $170 in BJ with the free play. Then made my way to the poker room. Game was surprisingly tough. Like I felt like I was the best player and +EV at the table but it wasn't as soft as I expect 1/2 to be. I got coolered pretty badly early on also. I would like some thoughts on my play in this hand also. Young kid sits down and it's his 3rd hand. So no reads but he buys in full and is shuffling his chips so he is probably competent. He's UTG+3. Limp and limp and he makes it 18. Folds to me on B and I have 99. I decide to flat since raising and folding both seemed like bad options, raising especially. I think a blind might have called and both limpers did call. Flop was 678. Villain cbets when checked to. I decide I can rep a big hand on this flop as it hits my range way harder than villains. So I decide to raise and then ship turn if called. I feel over pairs make up a big part of his range. And even if I can't get him to fold an over pair I have about 40% equity. Plus I might be good here anyways. AK and AQ type hands also make up a large part of his range. So I raise and it folds to him and he ships. Well that didn't go according to plan. Oh well, have to call now. GII and turn is gin! 5! River blank! Villain turns over 910 for the nuts
lol. How TF does he have 910 in his range raising to 18 UTG+3. I gave him too much credit I guess. Oh well. I keep grinding and despite being card dead find two really good steal spots in big pots which propel me to a whopping +28 victory lol. Results:
Harveys SLT- 8pm-1:45am 640-668; +28; 5h45m
Well that's it for now. Still in Lake Tahoe right now but will be driving to Vegas shortly. I have a room rented off of airbnb for 1 month. Planning on staying the whole summer minimum but I like booking only one month to keep my options open. Wish me luck!